In development of application software dynamically downloaded and executed by a mobile communication terminal, an object code created in a development environment (emulator or the like) on a personal computer (PC) is sent to a mobile communication terminal for testing the performance of the object code, and the developer tests the performance by actually running the object code on the mobile communication terminal. During such performance tests, errors occurred by defects that are present in the code itself, restrictions that are imposed on the mobile communication terminal being tested (limitations of the usable memory area or the like), and other factors. However, conventional mobile communication terminals lack means for notifying the developer of the contents of errors, so the developer needs to embed error-detecting codes in the object code and to determine the causes for these errors on the basis of the codes detected when the errors occurred.
However, such means require that special codes be embedded at all locations within a program where errors can occur, so operating efficiency decreases dramatically in development operations in which repeated performance testing and adjustments must be done. In addition, embedding such special codes creates differences in terms of program execution timing and the like in relation to the final commercial program from which these special codes have been removed, and makes it difficult to perform rigorous timing testing for commercial programs or the like. In particular, embedding special codes is sometimes still insufficient for determining the cause when an error occurs due to restrictions on a mobile communication terminal, forcing the developer to speculate on the cause of the error and to repeatedly adjust and retest the code.
Providing mobile communication terminals with a function for issuing a notification that contains error information has been proposed in order to address the aforementioned problems, but providing a mobile communication terminal with such notification functionality makes it necessary to make performance fault information available to end users, who are not intended to use such error information. This creates the risk that the end user will not be confident about the program or that the information will allow those skilled in the art to infer and copy the application structure. It has also been suggested to use a means whereby a mobile communication terminal for the enduser and a mobile communication terminal for the developer are prepared separately, but in this case the manufacturer of mobile communication terminals needs to develop two different versions of mobile communication terminals, and a greater load is thus imposed on the manufacturer of mobile communication terminals.
An object of the present invention, which was perfected in order to solve the aforementioned problems, is to provide a mobile communication terminal, an application software delivery apparatus, an application software delivery system, an execution state display control method, an execution state display control program, and a computer-readable recording medium that allow information about the execution state of an application to be made available only to appropriate persons while making it possible to test the performance of the application on the mobile communication terminal in a smooth manner.